Molmol
by Mantis Man
Summary: Ambition, jealousy, and a star-crossed love plunge two powerful societies into war.
1. Japan United

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Love Hina and Troy are the registered intellectual properties of their respective creators, and in neither case does 'creators' refer to me.

**Author's notes:**

First off, sorryfor the punctuation/spacing/formatting errors. For some unimaginable reason, some things simply will not appear correctly no matter what I do. I've submitted the problem to the Bugs department of FF.N but until/unless a fix is found, there seems to be nothing I can do about these errors.

This fic will combine both anime and manga elements on the Love Hina side, as well as a few modifications of both necessary for this particular story. On the Troy side ... well, it's 100 from the movie "Troy." NOT any other retelling of the Iliad nor ANY OTHER interpretation/translation/depiction/etc. of the same story.

I am not abandoning It Is Our Nature. Too often now I have felt like writing but just could not get into the right mood for that story, so I am hoping that this will give me something to work on when I'm not in the right mood for IION

I am a history buff, but not a history major. I am writing this story just for fun, and as such I am not planning to get a PhD in history just to write this fic. In fact, I will make some deliberate falsifications/simplifications/etc., just for the sake of making this story more accessible to the non-history buffs out there. Keep that in mind ;)

This fic may seem a little light on the Love Hina elements at first. Things will start out much the same and there will be a lot of scenes and dialog taken little modified from it, but this story will NOT simply be a retelling of Troy with Love Hina characters in the place of the Greek cast. Artistic license will be exercised, I promise. Just bear with me for a little while!

Assumed ages of LH chars for this story: mid-to-late twenties - mid thirties, except for Shinobu and Nyamo (late teens), Sara (early teens) and Haruka, Seta and Tsuruko (late thirties - early forties). Kaolla Suu is her adult self, presumably in her early twenties as well.

* * *

_**foreword:**_

_After nearly a decade of warfare, Kentaro, King of Tokyo, the largest and most powerful of the Japanese city-states, has forced all the kingdoms of Japan into a loose alliance. Only Kyoto remains unconquered. Kanako Urashima, Queen of Kyoto, has vowed not to surrender the absolute sovereignty of her state without a fight, and is particularly resentful of the fact that her adoptive aunt, Haruka Urashima, Queen of Hinata, freely accepted Kentaro's initially peaceful invitation to join him in his pursuit of a unified Japan and now marches against her alongside him._

_Naru Narusegawa, Queen of Nagoya and longtime friend to Kentaro, has grown weary of battle. Preparing to settle down with her new husband, Keitaro Urashima, nephew to Haruka, Naru seeks to make peace with the nation of Molmol, the most powerful rival to the emerging Japanese nation. All that remains of her obligations to Kentaro is to assist in the conquest of Kyoto._

_Tsuruko Aoyama, widely considered to be the greatest warrior ever born, fights for the Japanese army. But her disdain for Kentaro's rule combined with her immense popularity amongst the Japanese troops means that there is considerable tension mounting between those loyal to Kentaro and those who are beginning to doubt his suitability to lead the united Japanese people. Jealousies, ambitions, old grudges and hidden agendas are all beginning to surface._

* * *

Through an impossibly small valley nestled in between high mountains, the massive army moved. The combined strength of all of Japan marched slowly and purposefully in the warm breeze of morning, all eyes fixed dead ahead. Opposite them, a much smaller but even more determined army stood steadfast in their path, blocking a narrow pass that led to the fortress city of Kyoto. 

Kentaro smirked confidently as the two armies drew ever closer. This scene had played before his eyes many times in recent years, and every time the result had been the same. Only twice had his assimilation of a kingdom actually resulted in a large-scale battle. The ruler of every other kingdom had accepted his alternative to battle or surrender, and it was in for this alternative that he possessed an asset even more formidable than the size of his army. Well, perhaps not 'possessed,' but one way or another he'd always gotten what he wanted out of the asset thus far.

As his army drew to within 50 yards of the opposition, Kentaro ordered a halt. He had never seen the Kyoto Queen with his own eyes, but the descriptions he'd heard appeared quite accurate. Standing firm at the head of her army was a surprisingly small-framed and nondescript woman. She wore her full battle dress atop a horse that was also armored, and in addition to the katana and wakizashi slung through her belt she held a naginata upright in her right hand. Rumor had it she was a ferocious fighter all out of proportion to her rather diminutive figure, and indeed the fierce expression on her face was surprisingly unnerving when coming from a woman of her size. Kentaro nodded his head slightly and motioned with his hand for the other rulers who rode behind him to come forward, and when they were a horse's length behind him he himself again began to slowly trot forward.

Gritting her teeth, Kanako also motioned with her hand and four of her officers trotted forward, and then the five of them rode out to meet their enemy. That he had the audacity to bring his army into her territory without invitation angered her enough, but the sight of Haruka on Kentaro's side of the line cost her a great deal of self-control not to order her army to attack right then and there. But she bit her tongue and waited to see what Kentaro had in mind. Once within about 20 feet of one another, both sides stopped and dismounted, covering the remaining distance between them on foot.

Kentaro and Kanako stopped only when they were separated by a mere pace's distance. Kentaro was distinctly unmoved by Kanako's deadly, piercing gaze, and after meeting it for a few moments, he simply looked behind her at her lines of soldiers, and then back at his.

"Good day for the crows," he said, simply and matter-of-factly with a disappointed-looking shake of his head.

Kanako's temper crept a notch closer to breaking. "Either remove your army from my land, or be ready to bury them here," she said, anger thick in her voice.

Kentaro looked around Kanako to look at the mountains behind her. "I like your lands. Nice strategic location, excellent defensibility, good local resources ... and it's just pretty. I think we'll stay. And now that you mention in, I like your soldiers too ..."

"You might not like them so much when they're sending your arrogant ass back to where you came from," Kanako said contemptuously, making a clear gesture in Haruka's direction as she did so. "Now get the fu ..."

"Hold on there, Kanako," Kentaro interrupted. "I'm sure you'll agree that it's in both our best interests to resolve this as peacefully as possible. I won't ask you to disparage your honor by simply surrendering. Your reputation precedes you, I know you won't do that. On the other hand, believe it or not I would rather not trigger another massacre of perfectly good troops. So why don't we settle the issue in the old manner. Your best fighter against my best. My fighter wins, all I will ask of you is that you yourself lead your army as an integral part of my own to achieve a greater good. Your fighter wins, we'll leave Kyoto to its own business. What say you?"

Kanako smiled a very malicious smile, and her demeanor shifted from raw anger to near-amusement. "You do realize that you will lose much credibility even in the eyes of your sycophants here should you break your word, right?"

Kentaro raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Yes, of course I realize that. So do we have a deal?"

Kanako's grin widened. "Sure. It's a deal." She turned her head towards her troops and yelled, "KANAYE!"

A second later, Kanako's troops erupted into a rancorous roar of cheers and war-cries as a huge man stepped forward from Kanako's front line. He stood at least a head-and-shoulders taller than any other man within sight in the Kyotoian army, and must have been 3 times the mass of Kanako herself. The cheers and hoots continued from behind him until he had walked about 25 paces and then stopped, planting the two spears he carried in his right hand into the ground. He wore armor that looked heavy enough to drag a normal man to the ground, and his expression was one of someone who looked as though they must be the first born child of the War God himself.

Kentaro nodded and raised an eyebrow again in a small gesture of impressment. Turning his head towards his own forces, he called out, "TSURUKO!"

In contrast to Kanaye's appearance, silence greeted Kentaro's command. After a moment he turned around again, and there was no one stepping forward from his ranks. Another few moments later and some audible laughter came from the Kyotoian army.

Kanako chuckled a bit herself, and condescending contempt crept back into her voice. "Kanaye has this effect on many heroes. Don't let it completely spoil your day."

For the first time a sinister expression of warning flashed across Kentaro's face as he whirled to face Kanako again. "Careful who you insult, young queen," he said in a tone of voice that matched his facial expression, and then both of them turned in the direction of the Japanese army to the sound of approaching hoof beats. One of Kentaro's officers galloped forward.

"My lord ... Tsuruko is not with the army!" Said the officer.

_"WHERE IS SHE?"_ Kentaro shouted angrily.

"I've sent a girl to look for her."

* * *

Shinobu Maehara was at the same time incredibly excited and deathly nervous. She had been serving in Haruka's Royal Court since she was 13 as one of Haruka's personal assistants, cooking for her as well as for all of Haruka's official functions, directing the domestic affairs of Haruka's palace, and even occasionally serving as a goodwill emissary to Haruka's allies, but never before had she been entrusted with such a heavy task. An officer from Kentaro's army that she had met a few times before during those goodwill visits had come to her and asked to her find Tsuruko Aoyama and bring her to the battlefield. She knew right where Tsuruko would be, as she had frequently delivered food to her at Haruka's direction throughout the campaign, but she had no idea how to make such a request. Thousands of lives depended on her success or failure. She was honored by the assumption that she was up to the task, but nervous at the consequences should she not be up to it. 

Riding swiftly through the Japanese campsite, she easily spotted Tsuruko's unique, bright white-and-red tent, the same colors as the gi worn by her Aoyama clan. Bringing her horse to a halt, Shinobu quietly dismounted and walked over to the entrance flap of the tent. Stepping softly, she pushed the flaps out of the way and stepped inside.

Tsuruko lay face-down and naked atop a messy pile of beautiful silk sheets. Next to her lay a well-muscled man, also face-down and naked, with his arm around her back. All around them were the sake jugs and food trays that Shinobu herself had brought here the night before, only now these were all devoid of their previous contents. Surprised at the scene, but with her mission well in mind, she slowly walked forward towards them, and when she was close enough, she timidly reached for Tsuruko's arm in order to wake her.

Shinobu cried out in surprise when the arm instead reached out and grabbed her. Recognizing the voice, Tsuruko's annoyance at being woken up dissipated and she released her grip on Shinobu's kimono.

"Shinobu, my dear ... I was having such a good dream," Tsuruko said, groggily but somewhat playfully. Sitting up slightly, the man's arm slid off of her back and she looked down at him for a moment, then turned back to Shinobu.

"A _very _good dream," she added with a wink to the younger girl. Blinking her eyes a few times, she propped herself up on her arm and said, "What can I do for you?"

Shinobu became aware of the burning sensation on her face as she spoke, "My lady, King Kentaro sent me. The ..."

Tsuruko would normally have been quite annoyed indeed to find out that it was Kentaro who'd ruined her sleep, but his officer had chosen his messenger wisely. The furiously blushing Shinobu was just too cute for Tsuruko to get angry. Nevertheless, she cut Shinobu off in mid-sentence.

"I'll speak with your king in the morning," Tsuruko said, as she closed her eyes again and she laid back down, pulling the man's arm back over her. Smiling, she said, "I left you a gratuity in that sake jug over there. Go buy yourself something beautiful or delicious."

"Thank you, my lady. But ... it is morning," Shinobu said softly. Tsuruko opened her eyes again and looked up, as if noticing the glow of sunlight outside her tent for the first time.

"They're waiting for you," Shinobu said.

* * *

Tsuruko was fastening the last binds of her armor when she heard the soft clickety-clack of a horses' hooves on the ground just outside her tent. Walking over to the entrance, she lifted the flap to see leading both her own horse and Tsuruko's to the hitching post right outside, which she tied them both to. Smiling, Tsuruko stepped out of the tent. 

"Thank you very much, Shinobu. Haruka is lucky to have a servant like you in her court," she said as she walked over to her horse and pulled herself up onto it.

Shinobu blushed lightly again and bowed, and then slipped into the tent and retrieved Tsuruko's weapons. As she handed them to Tsuruko, she spoke again.

"My lady ... are the stories about you true?"

Tsuruko smiled and chuckled as she slung her katana through her sash. "I suppose that depends a lot on what the stories have to say."

Shinobu's eyes widened a little as she handed Tsuruko her wakizashi and then her naginata. "They say your mother is an immortal goddess. They say ... that you can't be killed."

Tsuruko smiled again and thumped her chest plate a few times. "I wish that was true, then I wouldn't have to bother with this clunky, itchy old armor."

Shinobu looked away from her and down for a moment, then back up at her, this time her eyes filled with concern.

"The Kyotoian soldier you're going to fight ... he's the biggest man I've ever seen. I wouldn't want to fight him."

Tsuruko's eyes softened as she returned Shinobu's gaze. "It is not the role of everyone to be a warrior, my dear. Nor is it everyone's duty to be a servant. Taste my cooking sometime and we can both be glad that each of us fills the role that we do."

With that, Tsuruko turned her horse and nudged it into a run, and swiftly sped out of the campsite.

* * *

At the sound of cheering from Kentaro's army, both he and his leadership and Kanako and her officers turned to look in that direction. Even at that distance, they could see a lone warrior on horseback causing the lines of soldiers to part and allow the warrior passage. When the warrior was about halfway through the army the troops began chanting, _"Tsuruko! Tsuruko!" _along with their cheers. Quickly Tsuruko passed through the Japanese front line, and as she dismounted about 15 feet from the collection of leaders, the Japanese army went silent. 

"Perhaps we should have our war tomorrow when you're better rested," Kentaro said irately as Tsuruko made to walk right past him. "I should have you whipped for your impudence!"

Tsuruko stopped walking towards the Kyotoian warrior at those words and turned to look at Kentaro, irritated contempt in her expression as well. Turning on her heels after a moment, she said frankly, "perhaps _you_ should fight him," and began to walk back towards her horse.

From the moment Kentaro had begun to speak, Haruka had closed her eyes and slightly shaken her head. _"Good lord, Kentaro, you can be such an idiot sometimes," _she thought to herself, and as Tsuruko began to walk away, Haruka stepped out from the circle of rulers and hustled after her.

"Tsuruko! Tsuruko, wait ..." Haruka said as she ran towards her.

Tsuruko took a deep breath and stopped. Haruka was the one ruler out of all the Japanese kings and queens that she held the utmost respect for, and Haruka was the only real reason why she had had been fighting 'for' Kentaro all this time. Nevertheless, even Haruka was running out of ways to help her tolerate her name being associated with Kentaro's conquests. But she always gave Haruka a chance.

Catching up to Tsuruko, Haruka paused for a moment. Haruka looked at Tsuruko for a moment, then over at her own army's section of Kentaro's line, then back to Tsuruko.

"Look at the faces of our troops, Tsuruko. You can save hundreds of them. You can end this war even before it starts with a single stroke of your sword" Haruka said calmly.

Sensing frustrated indecision out of Tsuruko, Haruka continued. "Please, Tsuruko. Let my soldiers go home to their families."

Tsuruko stood silent and still for another few moments, then turned her head to Haruka and nodded slightly.

"Thank you," Haruka said quietly, and she bowed to Tsuruko.

Tsuruko returned the gesture, and then turned back around and started walking towards the circle of rulers.

"Imagine a king who fights his own battles," Tsuruko said contemptuously to Kentaro as she crossed his path, angrily sticking her naginata into the ground not one foot in front of him and then turning in the direction of the waiting Kanaye and continuing to walk. "Wouldn't that be a sight ..."

Kentaro glared at her as she walked away from him. Speaking to the other rulers of Japan who still stood around him, he said, "Of all the warlords loved by the gods ... I hate _her_ the most."

* * *

Tsuruko was taller than most Japanese women, but nevertheless, even in her armor, she was not an exceptionally imposing sight. Kanaye smiled maliciously as he watch Tsuruko begin to jog towards him. Turning around to face the troops behind him, the veins in his neck and forehead bulged as he bellowed out a mighty war cry, which in turn enticed an even louder explosion of cheers and cries from the Kyotoians than before. Satisfied after a moment at the rallying he'd roused from his side, he spun to face the oncoming Japanese warrior, who by now had broken into a full run. Picking up one of his two spears, he wound back and threw it at Tsuruko with great speed. Tsuruko simply sidestepped and avoided the missile. Kanaye grabbed his other spear and threw it, and this time Tsuruko drew her sword and cut the projectile in half, knocking the pieces out of her way without so much as ducking her head. By now the two fighters were only about 30 feet apart. Kanaye drew his own sword, and with a another fearsome war cry he began to run forwards as well. In a flash the opponents were within sword range of one another, and Kanaye raised his blade. 

It happened so fast that anyone who had blinked would have missed it. Even before Kanaye's sword had finished drawing back, with almost inhuman speed Tsuruko's sword flashed to the right, and as she sidestepped her opponent the length of her blade disappeared into Kanaye's side halfway up his ribcage, the tip briefly reappearing out his other side, and as Tsuruko flew past him she withdrew her sword and slowed to a walk, still moving towards the Kyotoian army.

Kanaye seemed dazed, but only for a moment. As a stream of blood began to pour from his nose and mouth, he dropped like a stone.

Now it was the Japanese army that broke out into cheers, and their Kyotoian adversaries were reduced to stunned silence as Tsuruko continued walking towards them, stopping only about 10 feet before their front line.

Looking around at the disbelieving faces in front of her for a moment, Tsuruko then shouted, "Is there no one else?"

No reply came from the Kyotoian army. Tsuruko walked down the line of soldiers a few times and repeated her challenge, only louder and fiercer this time. "IS THERE _NO _ONE ELSE?"

More silence followed, and then she turned at the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind and to one side. Kanako came to within a single pace's distance of Tsuruko and then stopped, her face an expression of shocked humility.

"Who _are_ you, soldier?" Kanako asked, in a tone of voice that was also disbelieving.

"Tsuruko. Heiress of the Aoyama clan," she replied, forcefully but respectfully.

"Tsuruko Aoyama ... I'll remember the name," Kanako said quietly, and then she bowed to Tsuruko. Tsuruko bowed back, and then Kanako slowly pulled her katana, scabbard and all, out of her belt.

"I am a woman of my word. The ruler of Kyoto carries this sword ..." she said, and then she extended the sword to Tsuruko. "... give it to your king."

Tsuruko regarded her for a moment, and then she turned back towards the Japanese line. "He's not my king," she said as she turned, her contempt for said king clear in her voice, and then without taking Kanako's sword Tsuruko began to walk away, leaving Kanako standing there positively stumped and completely at a loss for words.


	2. The Dream of Peace

**Author's note:**

**I am again both puzzled and frustrated by the lack of controlI now have over howmy story appears on this site. The glitch that prevents me from having more than one punctuation mark at the end of a sentence in particular really limits my ability for dialog to have the emphasis and effect that I want.So get used to the sort of punctuation/spacing/formatting imperfections that are in this chapter.Looks like they're here to stay, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it!**

* * *

**_Six Weeks Later_****_

* * *

_**

The City of Nagoya was alive with celebration. Revelers, dancers, merchants and members of every walk of life took to the streets in their thousands in a blissful commemoration of the successful completion of the long-running peace negotiations with the nation of Molmol. Nagoya was the first Japanese kingdom to have any prolonged contact with Molmol, and almost from the first day that Naru Narusegawa had become queen of the Nagoyan kingdom, Nagoyans and Molmolians had been at one another's throats. Conflicts ranged from economic zones and fishing grounds to sovereignty over various small islands and travel-through rights through one another's territory, and within a year of the aggressive new queen's ascension to power full-scale war between the two nations seemed just around the corner. Kentaro, absorbed in preparations for his own ambitions to come, did nothing, but Haruka, who also had a close relationship with Naru at that time, stepped in. Haruka arbitrated the escalating conflict and eventually secured a cease-fire from both sides, but a firm peace treaty had proven a much more difficult task, as neither side was anxious to relinquish their claims to the disputed territories. However, Marakesh Suu, King of Molmol, was happy to avoid war if at all possible, and his willingness to compromise - combined again with some intervention on Naru's positions by Haruka - meant that talks had progressed.

Kentaro's initiation of his domestic conquests then gave Naru her first taste of battle, and also Naru's first notion that perhaps war was not the glorious affair that she had imagined it to be. Though she was aggressive, short-tempered and prone to actions based more on emotion than reason, Naru did care for the well-being of her people, and seeing with her own eyes the lines of Nagoyan casualties that had resulted from a relatively small battle made her seriously reconsider her previous intention to go to war with the far more powerful Molmolians over issues that could reasonably be settled by negotiation. Naru had then offered the concession of an island that was rich in metals to Molmol as a sign of renewed interest in peace, and Marakesh had sent his youngest sister, Kaolla Suu, to Nagoya as a goodwill emissary in return. The relationship had warmed considerably from that time forward, and by the conclusion of the campaign in Kyoto little was left to do but organize the formal signing of the treaty.

Immediately after returning to Nagoya from that campaign, Naru had dispatched a messenger to Molmol. Three weeks later, Amara Suu, Kaolla's older sister, senior heir to the throne of Molmol and the commanding officer of the Molmolian army, had arrived with her country's official delegation. The final treaty had taken only 4 days to draft, and the signing itself had sparked the weeks of celebration that had followed. But now it was time for the Molmolian delegation to leave, and Kaolla Suu was also supposed to return home.

* * *

In a large warehouse in the harbor that had been temporarily converted into a banquet hall, the courts of Nagoya and Molmol were enjoying an extravagant feast before the Molmolians sailed home in the morning. Dancing, singing and all manner of festivities had raged in the warehouse all throughout the night, and at the largest table set in the center of the building, Naru was seated beside her husband Keitaro. As the food was rolled out, she called the companies to order. 

After the other people at her table had been seated and silence had been brought to the room, Naru stood up, her large and elaborately decorated sake cup in hand, and addressed the Molmolians.

"Ladies and gentlemen ... on this, our last night together, Keitaro and I salute you! You have represented your people with courage, honor and integrity!"

A brief uproar of cheers followed, and then Naru continued.

"We've had our conflicts before, it's true. We've fought many battles, Nagoya and Molmol ... and fought well!"

Louder cheers from both sides of the table answered her. When they had died down, she smiled widely and raised her cup higher.

"Amara, Kaolla, young princesses ... please, drink with me ..."

The two named princesses, seated directly across from Naru and Keitaro, stood at her words, and raised their own cups. Amara was glowing like flame, but Kaolla's expression was strangely muted.

"Let us drink to peace," Naru said, almost softly, and nodded her cup to Amara and Kaolla.

"To peace ... between Molmol, and Nagoya," replied Amara in a tone of voice that was similarly subdued for emphasis against the clamor of most other activities of the evening.

Another round of cheers swept the room as soon as the sake cups touched the lips of the three leaders, and the silence that Naru had briefly achieved for the purpose of her toast quickly degraded back into the clamor of celebration even as the dozens of people present began their meal.

Because of the party that raged around them, no one felt like gorging themselves despite the incredible bounty of food that Naru offered, and as such the ranks at the tables soon thinned out as more singing and dancing broke out.

The cloth-covered bodies of the kimono-clad Japanese contrasted very interestingly with the Molmolians, whose traditional dress was far less comprehensive in nature. Amara's diplomatic best consisted of a rather minimal and strapless top that was deep blue on the bottom and patterned on top, with matching armbands and neckband, with a likewise matching and very low-cut skirt. A colorful metal ring held her hair up, and her earrings matched the small, dangling decorations that hung from her armbands and the top band of her skirt. Kaolla's bright pink top was a bit more substantial than her sister's, and was attached to a golden double-ringed neckband, but her skirt was just as low cut and of the same design, differing only in her choice of color accent. Colors, patterns, and details differed, but the other females among the Molmolians were dressed in a similar fashion, and the men often had no top at all and wore baggy, knee-length shorts. This contrast made for a colorful and artistic scene as the two peoples intermingled in dance and games. It was a warm night in Nagoya, so no one was uncomfortable.

Among Amara's many talents was music, and with her native flute she found herself playing along with the troop of Nagoyan musicians. A whole new cluster of dancers formed around them, and Naru, frolicking with a number of Nagoyan men, ended up amongst them. When the number ended, a widely grinning Naru stepped forward and offered Amara another cup of sake, which the Molmolian princess readily accepted.

"To the gods!" Naru exclaimed, raising her own cup to head level.

Amara returned the smile and tapped her cup to Naru's. "To the gods," she replied, and after pouring an offering to the ground, they drank the rest themselves.

* * *

All the while, there was only one person in the whole building who looked very out of place for his glumness. Keitaro had eaten a little food at dinner in silence, and shortly after Naru had left the table to join in the party, he had slunk away out a side door. Amara had dragged Kaolla away from the table when she too had sought to involve herself in the fun, but it hadn't taken the younger Suu too long to separate herself, as her uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm for festivities meant that she failed to keep pace with her older sister. Amara had noticed this, of course, but Kaolla had been in Nagoya for many months now and Amara wrote off Kaolla's relative gloominess to an inevitable sense of sadness for leaving the place that she must have come to regard as a second home. She allowed Kaolla to get away, and no one noticed her slip out the same side door that Keitaro had left through about 25 minute prior. 

Kaolla knew where Keitaro was going. On her way away from the docks she bought a hooded cloak from a street vendor with which to disguise her identity as she walked briskly through the city. She moved as quickly as she dared so as not to draw undue attention to herself.

* * *

Keitaro was slumped over on a table in his cabin when Kaolla opened the door and came into the room. This was a secret location that Naru didn't know about, and it was where he came whenever he wanted to be alone without being disturbed, or more recently, whenever he didn't want to see Naru. He had been crying and his eyes were puffy and red, but he tried to wipe them dry and compose himself when he saw Kaolla. 

"You should not be here," he said softly after a moment.

Kaolla smiled at him and deftly discarded her cloak. "That's what you said last night," she replied, in a tone of voice that said in a uniquely Kaolla way that she intended to cheer him up whether he liked it or not.

Keitaro forced himself to look away from her. "Last night was a mistake."

Keitaro's words didn't even convince himself, let alone Kaolla. Still smiling, she slowly began walking towards him. "And the night before last? And the night before that? The past month's worth of nights?"

"I have a way of making my mistakes in bulk." The opposite directions of his words and his emotions were ridiculously transparent again. As Kaolla reached his chair, with a feather-light touch she draped her arms over his chest.

"Do you want me to go?"

Keitaro made no response for a moment, and then a fresh line of tears traced down his cheeks. Putting his hands on her arms, he slowly stood up, taking care not to break her embrace. He looked tearfully into her eyes for a moment, and then put his arms around her back, pulling her into a deep kiss.

* * *

After the party began to slowly run out of steam, Amara noticed her sister's absence. Naru, however, gave no obvious indication that she noticed Keitaro was missing, which Amara herself was quick to notice after she'd confirmed that Kaolla was not in the building. Amara had a mild suspicion that Kaolla was interested in the Nagoyan king, her mentions of him in her letters home being more than enough to plant that idea. After meeting him tonight, Amara could see that he was the type of man that Kaolla had always been attracted to. Given that this was going to be her last night in Nagoya for a long time, she knew that if Kaolla was going to attempt to act upon her attraction, tonight would be the night that she would do it. But Naru was clearly oblivious to the situation, and so Amara didn't worry about it too much. Come tomorrow, there would be no more opportunity for trouble. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she rejoined the Nagoyan musicians with her flute.

* * *

Some time later, Kaolla and Keitaro lay naked and breathing heavily atop Keitaro's bed. Kaolla's head was buried in Keitaro's chest, his arms were around her, and he was gently stroking her hair. 

"The Goddess of Love and Beauty has outdone herself in you, Kaolla," Keitaro said softly, breaking the spell of intimate silence that had followed the spell of physical intimacy.

Kaolla blushed very lightly but did not move from her position within his arms. "If that's true, then that explains much about why she sent me to you. A Goddess of Love and Beauty should have a God of the same, should she not?"

Keitaro cracked a faint smile of his own, but then released his grip on her and rolled away from her. Though he stayed quiet, his body began to shake with the unmistakable emotion of sadness. Puzzled, Kaolla scooted closer to him and put her arm around him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice full of surprised concern.

Keitaro didn't answer right away, he just seemed to be trying to choke back the tears that were threatening his composure.

"If it's Naru you're worried about, don't. That pompous wasp of a queen was so busy drowning herself in sake and prancing around like a drunken blind woman to even notice that you'd left, let alone me."

Keitaro took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before responding. "It's not Naru that scares me ... it's tomorrow."

He turned back around to face her before continuing, a few tears breaking free of his best efforts to restrain them. "It's the thought of watching you sail away and knowing that I may well never see you again."

"You don't have to fear tomorrow either. Come with me. Come to Molmol with me!" Kaolla's sudden enthusiasm in her words made it sound as though she'd been waiting all night for Keitaro to say something like that just so she could make this reply.

Keitaro gave a slight huff, closed his eyes and wiped his tears away. "Don't play with me like that," he whispered softly.

"I'm not playing with you. You can use this very cloak that I brought here tonight to slip into the harbor tomorrow morning! Get yourself intermingled with the Nagoyan dockhands as my ship prepares to leave, and I'll get you on board!" Kaolla was getting more excited as she spoke these words. It contrasted with Keitaro's growing pessimism.

"You can't be serious. Naru would kill us both."

"Naru wouldn't dare attack Molmol just to get her hands on us! She hasn't the stomach for war, she's proven that already! And even if she did, she'd have to be the dumbest queen ever to walk the earth to sacrifice her army on a crusade of personal revenge! There's no way her soldiers would throw their lives away for such a cause!"

Keitaro was obviously tempted by her offer, but he was equally obviously not convinced that Kaolla's happy ending was realistic. Kaolla pulled herself closer to him and kissed his forehead.

"I love you, Keitaro. I can't imagine just sailing away and never seeing you again. Either you come with me, or I will give my sister the slip tomorrow and stay here. My way, we have the entire might of Molmol between us and Naru. Your way, and we're on our own."

Keitaro closed his eyes, trying to loose himself in Kaolla's soft touch as he began to consider her unthinkable proposal.

* * *

****

Late The Next Afternoon

* * *

Amara stood at the bow of her ship, playing her flute again in the soothing sea breeze that seemed to move her silver hair in unison with her the notes of her music. Most of those on board who were not serving a purpose in the operation of the vessel were also out on the deck enjoying some leisure time. Some were playing other instruments, others were playing games, and some had simply laid out some padding and snoozed the afternoon away in the warm sunlight and hypnotizing motion of the ship as it plowed through the calm water. Amara stopped playing and turned to look behind her at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Kaolla ... are you feeling alright? You've been below deck since before we even left Nagoya harbor. It's not like you to hide from the sun all day like that," she said to her sister as Kaolla walked up next to her.

"No, I'm just fine, thank you," Kaolla said, and stepped up to the rail behind Amara and leaned up against it, looking out at the ocean. She didn't say anything else, and Amara turned around and also leaned against the railing.

"It's a beautiful day," began Kaolla after a few minutes of silence.

Amara smiled. "No doubt an omen of the good fortune that has just befallen our people. Thanks in no small part to you," she added, poking Kaolla in the side with her elbow.

Amara didn't look at her, and so didn't notice the look that crossed Kaolla's face as she spoke. Kaolla was silent again for a minute or two, and then she looked right at Amara.

"Do you love me, sister? Would you protect me against any enemy?" Kaolla asked, but not in her usual playful sort of way.

Amara frowned a sort of 'don't spoil the day with negative thoughts' frown as she turned her head towards Kaolla and studied her face for a moment. "The last time you spoke to me like this, you were 10 years old and you'd just torn apart father's furniture to make that giant stuffed turtle," she said. Huffing out a light chuckle, she finished her question. "What have you done now?"

The uncharacteristically serious look Kaolla got on her face suddenly struck a pang of worry in Amara as her younger sister answered, "I must show you something."

Kaolla quickly stood up straight and started walking towards the gangway that led to the ship's lower decks, motioning for Amara to follow her. Amara's sense of puzzlement and some subconscious notion of bad things to come crept up into a slight but noticeable sensation of anxiety in her stomach as she stepped forward and followed Kaolla below decks. Kaolla led Amara down to the cargo holds and to a particular compartment. Glancing first at Amara's questioning expression, Kaolla then opened the door and a hooded figure stepped quietly out. Amara's eyes went wide as the figure lifted the hood and she recognized the face of Keitaro Urashima, King of Nagoya.

* * *

Shirai and Haitani both nearly jumped out of their skins as the door to Keitaro's room in the Nagoyan Royal Palace flung open and cracked against the wall in a way that only an infuriated Naru Narusegawa could have done. They had been Keitaro's personal assistants ever since he'd come to Nagoya, and as such they were painfully aware of the fact that Keitaro had not come home last night after the going away party for the Molmolians. They had a pretty good idea of why too, as they had seen the way that he and the Molmolian princess had interacted in private. Keitaro trusted both of them and the last thing they would want to do to anyone, let alone their friend, would be to hand them over to a vengeful Naru. But they'd seen Naru's wrath before as well, and if she so much as suspected that they knew something about Keitaro's whereabouts, they had been dreading the moment that she came for them to extract said information by whatever means necessary. 

And by the look of things, that moment was now. Naru's face was contorted with rage as she stormed up to them. Shirai made as if to greet her, but Naru violently flung him aside and drove Haitani into the wall, pinning him there.

_"WHERE IS HE?"_ She practically screamed into his face. Too stunned and frightened to make a coherent reply, Haitani just whimpered. Naru's face went a deadly shade of dark as she swiftly drew her tanto from her belt and pressed the tip into his neck hard enough to draw blood.

"I swear by the fury of the gods, I will split you like melon if you don't _TELL ME_!"

Just then, a small army of Naru's assistants and guards burst into the room, panting as though they'd been trying to catch up with her for some time. Quickly the pressed a man in a maritime uniform forward.

"My lady! We've been trying to tell you, Keitaro has left the city! This fisherman here saw him board the Molmolian flagship just as they pushed off!"

The fisherman was clearly nervous as Naru released Haitani, who first collapsed onto the floor and then frantically scrambled past her and out of the room, and began to slowly walk towards him.

"Molmolians ..." Naru repeated quietly.

"Yes, my lady. The young princess, Kaolla. It was she who helped Keitaro onto their ship," the fisherman said, hoping that his voice didn't sound as wavering to Naru as it did to his own ears.

Naru stopped walking towards them and stopped, her expression slowly changing from one of immediate rage into one that expressed a much more cold and calculating sort of malice. Pulling a small cloth out of her kimono sleeve, she wiped the spot of Haitani's blood off her tanto and then deliberately resheathed it. Looking back up at her pack of servants, she said forcefully, "Get my ship ready."


	3. Storm Clouds

The captain of the Molmolian flagship received a bit of a start when, turning in the direction of some fast-moving footsteps - themselves out of pace with the relaxed aura of things - he saw a very angry looking Amara walking fast and straight at him, with Kaolla following closely behind her, looking quite agitated and nervous herself.

"Turn us around! Back to Nagoya!" Amara said shortly, walking right past the startled captain and stopping at the stern railing. She put her hands on the railing and leaned against it as Kaolla came up to her side. The captain bellowed out the order to the ship's crew, and Kaolla tried to talk to her furious sister.

"Amara, please ..." Kaolla began.

"You fool," came a dangerously low voice from the elder Suu, interrupting Kaolla.

Kaolla stepped closer to Amara and tried again to say something. "Sister, please let me ..."

This time Amara turned on her and interrupted her words with a violent shove, nearly knocking Kaolla off her feet.

_"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"_ Amara shouted angrily at Kaolla as the latter regained her balance._ "DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY YEARS OUR BROTHER WORKED FOR PEACE? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO FACILITATE THE PEACE PROCESS, NOT TO SQUASH IT BETWEEN YOUR LUSTFUL LITTLE FINGERS!"_

Amara shouted angrily at Kaolla as the latter regained her balance. 

The startled deckhands and formerly relaxed passengers who had been above deck did their best not to stare at the unexpected scene as Kaolla made her quiet reply to Amara's outburst.

"I love him," she said softly.

"GAH!" Exclaimed Amara, and she turned away from her sister. A moment later, Amara turned back around.

"It's all a game to you, isn't it? Everything in life is just fun and games in your eyes, isn't it?" Amara said as she took a few strides to put herself back into Kaolla's face, her voice shifting back into low and dangerous for a moment. "You roam around from city to city tempting merchant's sons and army recruits and you _think_ you know something about love!"

Amara's voice rose back into a shout. _"WHAT ABOUT YOUR BROTHER'S LOVE? YOU SPAT ON HIM WHEN YOU BROUGHT KEITARO ON THIS SHIP!" _Furiously, Amara gave Kaolla another powerful shove, this time bowling the younger princess over and landing her flat on her back. _"WHAT ABOUT THE LOVE FOR YOUR COUNTRY? YOU'D LET MOLMOL BURN FOR THIS MAN?"_

Amara was so angry now that her whole body was shaking. With a scowl that seemed to say to everyone watching that Kaolla would probably already be dead if the two of them didn't share the same last name, Amara spun on her heels and went back to leaning against the stern railing. At the same time, Kaolla humbly picked herself off the deck and slowly approached Amara again.

_"I won't let you start a war for him,"_ Amara hissed as she sensed Kaolla's proximity.

"May I speak?" Kaolla asked submissively, her head held low.

Even in her agitated state, Amara couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Kaolla's demeanor. Just as no one on the ship right now had ever seen Amara so enraged before, Amara and presumably everyone else had never seen Kaolla so submissive before. Without her conscious permission, Amara's anger dropped down just enough for her to nod her head to her sister, albeit without looking at her.

"You're right. I've wronged you. And I've wronged our brother. If you want to take Keitaro back to Nagoya then so be it ... but I go with him," Kaolla said, her tone of voice still soft and submissive, but her last sentence also making clear that she meant what she said.

Amara let out an agitated sigh, and turned her head slightly towards Kaolla as she spoke. "To Nagoya, they'll kill you!"

"Then I'll die fighting."

Amara first snapped her head the rest of the way in Kaolla's direction with another angry expression, and then turned all the way around and took a step towards her.

"Oh, and that sounds heroic to you doesn't it? To die fighting ... tell me little sister, have you ever killed anyone?"

"No."

"Ever seen someone die in combat?"

"No."

Amara moved closer to Kaolla until their foreheads were almost touching. "I've killed people. I've heard them dying and I've watched them die, and there's _nothing _glorious about it! Nothing poetic, nothing beautiful, and _nothing_ liberating! You say you'll die for love, yet you know _nothing _about dying and you know _nothing _about love!"

Amara turned away from Kaolla again, but Kaolla spoke as Amara started to walk away.

"All the same. I go with him," Kaolla said softly. "You've told me that you won't fight my battle for me. I won't ask you again."

Amara's face, which had been contorted in anger all this time, briefly changed into an expression of indecision, and then back into anger.

"You already have," Amara replied, her voice low and quiet again. Quickly standing up, she spun around and started walking swiftly back towards the hatch that led below deck. As she passed the captain again, she spared him a slight glance as she rescinded her earlier order. "To Molmol!"

* * *

****

Eleven Days Later

* * *

It was a common scene anytime Naru thought something was important, but now that it was a matter of personal pride, anyone watching would be laughing were they not afraid of having their heads cut off for doing so. Naru Narusegawa, the scorned Queen of Nagoya, somehow managed to walk at a speed faster than most peoples' jog, and she led on a small army of both her own court and the Tokyo delegation sent to greet her like a keeper leading a pack of stray dogs with a bag of meat scraps. Everything about Naru's demeanor seemed to suggest that she was completely unaware of the dozens of people 10 meters behind her who were frantically trying to keep up with her as the whole procession marched purposefully towards Kentaro's Royal Palace.

At the entrance to Kentaro's throne room, Kentaro's guards tried to open the doors for Naru, but she blasted right past them and smacked the doors open herself. Kentaro was seated on his throne and a few officials and guards were in the room, but the throne room was large and with so few people in it the room seemed almost deserted. None of Naru's court nor Kentaro's greeting party thought it wise to follow Naru any further.

Slowing down to a creep as she walked silently up the steps of platform on which Kentaro's throne was situated, Kentaro cracked a thin, weak smile at her and gently nodded his head to her. He rose to his feet as she reached the edge of his throne, and as a single tear ran down her right cheek, she reached out and firmly embraced Kentaro in a hug.

The Japanese King knew what had happened in Nagoya. Kentaro had always loved gossip and rumor and everyone who even indirectly dealt with him quickly found out that to pass such things on to him was a quick and easy way to score a few points with him. Someone came and went between Tokyo and all other major Japanese cities on a daily basis, and as such the story of Naru's abandonment had arrived at his palace with the messenger whose trip to Tokyo had, ironically enough, been originally scheduled for the purpose of informing Kentaro of the successful outcome of the peace talks with Molmol.

So much for peace. Kentaro knew why Naru had come to him. Naru must have been the most prideful, vindictive person he'd ever met. For as long as he'd known her, anyone who ever offended her in any way, shape, or form met with some sort of retribution. Now that she was queen, that usually meant imprisonment or death if the offender was of lesser standing than her, which of course was just about everyone. In theory, Keitaro was of equal stature to Naru, but Kentaro among many others knew that in practice it wasn't like that at all. Naru had absolute dominion over Keitaro. The first time he'd tried to challenge one of Naru's decrees, shortly after they had been married, he'd done a quick 180 on his position the next day, showing up at the legislative meeting with a broken nose. From that day forth, Keitaro had merely been a puppet of Naru. Now that puppet had not simply disobeyed his master, but insulted and humiliated her in front of her entire city.

Kentaro gently returned Naru's embrace, but she only held it for a minute or two. Pulling herself away, she took a deep breath.

"I want him back," she said flatly.

Kentaro hid the smile that underlaid his reply as he put his hands on Naru's shoulders. "Of course you do. He's a charming little fellow."

Naru's aura darkened and her face that previously bore an expression almost akin to sadness contorted into an expression of hate. "I want him back so I can kill him with my own two hands," she said, her voice also now dripping with venom. "And I'll not rest until every last Molmolian lies dead and their precious cities are reduced to ruins."

"I thought you wanted peace with Molmol."

"I did. But it seems they did not want peace with me."

Kentaro closed his eyes and nodded, making a very convincing imitation of solemn understanding.

"Only twice in my life have I gone against your advice. The first time, I married Keitaro instead of you. The second, I tried to make friends with a people whom you assured me would be our enemy someday. Now in one night I was made to regret both those instances. I swear to you, I'll not make the same mistake a third time."

Kentaro was barely able to conceal his pleasure in hearing Naru's words. But the time for that celebration was not now. "It's alright ... my love ..." Kentaro tried out that title for Naru with great caution, almost coming to regret it as being too forward too fast, but was quickly relieved as Naru seemed to take some pleasure in him calling her that. "You are a very young queen, and you had not yet had some of the more bitter experiences a leader must endure that make us more realistic rulers."

Naru looked up at him, surprising him with a suddenly seductive look. He'd forgotten about Naru's unique ability to shift from one emotion to another at the blink of an eye. He found it strangely attractive, in a slightly unnerving sort of way. Quickly though, he again predicted what was coming. "Leave us," he commanded simply, motioning to the others in the room. Quietly the guards and officials filed out of the room, and a few moments later Kentaro and Naru were alone.

"I want to make a deal that will allow me to make amends for my errors. You help me correct my second mistake ..." Naru began, and then she writhed onto Kentaro's lap and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. "... and I'll be more than happy to rectify my first. I'll even start right now ..." she finished, and ran her fingers down his chest to the sash of his kimono, which she then slowly began to undo.

Kentaro figured there wasn't much point in hiding his pleasure now. Grinning ear to ear, he placed his hand under Naru's chin and gently lifted her head up so that they met eye to eye. "For you, and for Japan ... it's a deal."

Naru gave him what even to Kentaro himself was clearly a manipulative smile as she finished undoing his sash, but he did not care. Indeed, he found it incredibly amusing that Naru thought that _she _was manipulating _him. _The reality of the situation was that he had been very annoyed by Naru's peace movement towards Molmol. Molmol was the only obstacle to his newly unified Japan's complete dominance over the South Pacific, and the capitulation or annihilation of that obstacle would have been much more difficult to arrange if he had to work around an alliance. Kentaro had also long been in love with Naru ... or perhaps not really 'in love,' but he had certainly lusted for her body and desired the prestige and boasting rights of having Naru Narusegawa as a consort. In either case, he had been madly jealous of Keitaro when he and Naru had first become an item. Had Haruka's allegiance not been so important to him, he would have been happy to arrange an accident for his rival, but the Hinatan Queen loved her nephew and upsetting her in that way could have ended his ambitions real quick. It would still be unwise for him to personally harm or willfully allow Keitaro to be harmed, but if Naru herself was willing to take care of that for him ... well, he could not be held responsible for the actions of a scorned woman, now could he? At the very least, considering that Keitaro's actions could easily be labeled 'high treason,' he could force Haruka to make Keitaro a prisoner in her own kingdom, and that would do just fine for his purposes. Kentaro closed his eyes and thanked the gods for this stroke of unbelievable luck as Naru's hands worked their way inside his kimono and she pressed her lips onto his.

* * *

****

Later That Night

* * *

Kentaro sat smugly in his throne as the last of his small inner circle of officers strode into his throne room. A quick signal from Kentaro and his guards closed the door and secured it with a heavy wooden bar. All of them looked a bit surprised, perhaps even annoyed, both at being called away from their evenings at home and at Kentaro's aura of smugness. Kentaro got a cheap thrill from this, and decided to wait until one of them said something.

"What can we do for you, My Lord?" A tired-sounding officer said after only a few minutes of awkward silence.

Kentaro cracked a grin. "I want all the kings and queens of Japan, and their armies. I want them all here inside of six weeks. We're going to war."

Such a profound declaration being made under such casual circumstances took a moment to sink in with his officers.

"I beg your pardon, My Lord?" Another officer said skeptically.

"Mobilize our own army and tell the other rulers to bring every ocean-going craft they've got. Our destination is Molmol."

Once again, Kentaro casually mentioning that they were about to go to war with the only nation that could actually threaten the combined might of Japan as though he were talking about a friendly sumo match created a lapse in the reaction time of his court.

"Um ... My Lord, wha ..."

"The Molmolians crashed their peace talks with Nagoya by stealing away the Nagoyan King for the lustful pleasures of their youngest princess. Such a blatant and audacious insult to Japanese pride cannot go unanswered. If Japan is to be recognized as a world power, then the world must know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we not tolerate such abuses. By destroying Molmol, we will at the same time make an example out of them and remove our only current rival of any significance. That should make anyone else in the future think twice about opposing us," Kentaro interrupted, cutting of his officers' disbelieving question.

Kentaro's tired and now bewildered officer corps found themselves without a ready response. Had they been wide awake and thinking, they would have thought that Kentaro's reasoning made some sense to them. As it was, they could only nod in agreement in a practiced, reflexive way.

"Yes, My Lord," came a unanimous reply.

Kentaro smiled, closed his eyes, leaned back into his throne and let out relaxed sigh, as though he were getting a massage. "Use the rest of this night to prepare messengers to the other kingdoms. I want them out of eyeshot of Tokyo before I wake up tomorrow. Understood? And I want our army ready for review this week."

A slightly less coordinated affirmative was the response of his officers this time.

"Good. You are dismissed. Have a nice evening," Kentaro said.

His officers were puzzled one more time by his strange dismissal, but they bid him a good night as well and left the throne room. Save for his customary personal protection detail, he was now alone again.

Kentaro felt on top of the world. The entire nation of Japan was now under his command, and the woman of his dreams had just freely given him both herself and an excellent cover for his last remaining ambition - removing of the nation of Molmol as a threat to his new country.

_"Keitaro Urashima ... you poor bastard ..."_ Kentaro thought to himself._ "I used to think that I wanted to kill you, but after doing me this favor I'd almost rather shake your hand and thank you."_ He snickered a little at his own thoughts.

Kentaro thought to himself. He snickered a little at his own thoughts.

"I just hope for your sake that Haruka or even I get my hands on you before Naru does. I could catch myself feeling sorry for you otherwise ..."

Kentaro's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. Startled, he reflexively shouted, "Come in!"

The guards dutifully swung open the heavy wood doors again, and one of Kentaro's officers who'd just left stepped back into the room. He bowed respectfully and approached the throne.

"What is it, General?" Kentaro asked once the officer had reached the throne platform.

"Sir ... are you sure about this?" The officer asked. His voice was respectful, but also firm.

"Sure about what?"

"Attacking Molmol. Should we not consolidate our control here at home first? Kyoto has only just been added to our ranks, and several of the other kingdoms have yet to prove their loyalty as well."

Kentaro chuckled. "I appreciate your caution, but I assure you, things are under control."

The officer grew noticeably more nervous. "My Lord ... the Molmolians have never been conquered. Indeed, no one who's ever tried has ever been a major power again afterwards. We ... _you_ ... have worked so hard to Japan where it is now. I just ... I just ..."

Kentaro cracked a slight grin as he slowly stood up from his throne and took a few slow steps towards his officer. "Young King Marakesh thinks he's untouchable in his island fortress."

The Japanese King chuckled again as he closed to an arm's length distance from his general. "He thinks the Turtle God will _protect_ him. But the gods protect only .. the strong!" Kentaro quickly drew his katana before his last two words for emphasis. Then looking up at his blade, he continued.

"This sword has guided me through every battle I've ever fought as a king. This blade does not buckle at the name 'Molmol,' and neither shall I."

The general was clearly unmoved by Kentaro's performance. "Amara commands the finest army of the South Pacific. So far as we know, no enemy has ever even _reached_ the walls she defends, much less _breached_ them."

"We will attack them with the greatest force the world has ever seen! Her walls will crumble before our blades as though they were made of tatami!"

Kentaro turned away from the officer as he resheathed his blade. The general sensed the futility of his first point, but took a deep breath as he prepared to make his second. "One more thing, My Lord," he said, and Kentaro stopped walking away from him. "We need Tsuruko, and her Aoyama Clan."

For the first time all evening, Kentaro's mood took a swing for the worse, and he let out a sigh that was most definitely not one of pleasure. "Tsuruko ..." he muttered under his breath, and then turned his head back towards the officer. "She can't be controlled ... she's as likely to fight us as the Molmolians!"

The general shook his head and raised his eyebrows. "We don't need to control her. We need to _unleash_ her. That woman was _born_ to end lives."

"Yes. She's a gifted killer. But she threatens everything I've built!" Exclaimed Kentaro, as he again moved closer to the general. "Before me, Japan was nothing! _I _brought all the kingdoms of Japan together! _I _created a nation out of feuding warlords and ronin armies! _I _build the future, General, _me!"_

Kentaro looked into his officer's eyes, his disdain for the person in discussion crystal-clear in his own.

"Tsuruko is the past ... a warrior who fights for no flag ... a woman loyal to no country."

Again, the general was distinctly unmoved by Kentaro's emotional performance. "How many battles have we won off the edge of her sword?" He said, leaning forward for emphasis and his voice now expressing the passion that Kentaro's had carried at the beginning of their conversation. "This will be the greatest war the world has ever seen! We _need_ the greatest warrior!"

Kentaro hung his head in frustration. After a minute, he raised his head again, reluctant agreement on his face.

"There's only one person she'll listen to."


	4. Haruka's Solution

****

**_Two Weeks Later_**

High in the mountains of Hinata, in an area far removed from any other populated area, two figures darted around inside a large, open-air training area that sat at the very peak of the mountain. Each figure held a bokken, and the two were clearly dueling. The taller figure was Tsuruko, and the second figure, though noticeably shorter than Tsuruko, was otherwise nearly a spitting image of the legendary swordswoman. In addition of course to the same white and red gi, they shared the same long, flowing black hair, the same light, almost delicate looking skin, and their faces looked very much alike too. They also moved in much the same way as they battled, although Tsuruko was clearly in control of the situation.

The smaller woman made a most subtle feint with her bokken, which Tsuruko duly made as if to defend against, and then swept her weapon low and attempted an attack from a totally different angle. Tsuruko just avoided the strike, the tip of her opponent's bokken passing through a length of her long hair that had just replaced her chin in that spot of vertical space.

Tsuruko's opponent smiled as she took on a new stance and prepared to attack again. "Nervous?" She said, her voice full of energized enthusiasm, and without waiting for an answer she whipped her bokken down at Tsuruko again with such practiced skill as to make the motion of the weapon almost invisible.

Tsuruko's face broke into a wide grin, and even before this gesture had been completed, she neatly sidestepped her attacker and drew her own bokken across the arms of her opponent in such a way that would have severed them above the elbows had she been armed with a real sword. Even before the realization of what had just happened crossed the smaller woman's face, Tsuruko followed through with her cut and brought the 'blade' of her bokken down again right between the neck and shoulder of the smaller woman in a way that would have cut her right in half diagonally if, again, real weapons were being used. As it was, Tsuruko only put enough strength into her bokken to press her shocked opponent to her knees.

_"Petrified," _replied the smirking Tsuruko, in a tone of voice that suggested she was suppressing a chuckle that was at the same time playful and challenging.

The smaller woman recovered quickly from the disbelief of her defeat, rolling out from under Tsuruko's bokken in the direction of the strike and attempting to mock-sever Tsuruko's legs beneath the knees. The swordsmaster backflipped out of range, only to seemingly just barely deflect the follow-up strike that had been aimed at her midsection. The smaller woman also deflected Tsuruko's return stroke, and this time there was a good 30 seconds of mutual deflections, sidesteps and parries before Tsuruko's opponent again stood frozen with the latter's bokken pressed against her neck.

Tsuruko's opponent recovered even faster this time, parrying Tsuruko's bokken away before executing a blindingly fast series of cuts and thrusts. Tsuruko successfully avoided or parried these attacks, but each time with precious little margin for error.

After a minute or two of indecisive sparring, the two combatants separated, walking parallel to one another but in opposite directions. The smaller woman stared at Tsuruko with low set eyes, grinning widely as if daring her adversary to blink.

She got her chance when they seemed to notice at the same time the sound of hoof beats coming up the steep, winding path that led to this place. The sound was faint, but perceptibly growing louder as the visitors were quickly drawing nearer. As it happened, when first noticed the sound was coming from behind Tsuruko, and she turned her head slightly so as to hear the sound more clearly. Her opponent decided that this was all the opportunity she needed. Leaping forward with incredible speed, she again feinted with her bokken before committing to the strike she had in mind.

It was still not enough to beat Tsuruko's reflexes. Swiftly sidestepping, the smaller woman's attack whooshed harmlessly past her, but she was more prepared for this eventuality that she had been earlier in this match - Tsuruko's return strike was skillfully avoided as well. Several unsuccessful exchanges of attacks later, her opponent made a downwards cut at Tsuruko's left shoulder. Tsuruko avoided this, but then found herself facing a particularly fast follow-through that had carried round into a similar strike aimed at her right shoulder. Even Tsuruko could not have hoped to avoid this strike in time.

Instead, the swordsmaster released her bokken with her right hand, and in the same motion flipped the weapon in her left hand so that the 'blade' was pointing outwards of her body instead of inwards, raising her left arm and stepping forward while shoving her opponent's left shoulder with her now free right hand. This action disrupted her opponent's attack while at the same time placing herself inside its effective arc. Tsuruko's own bokken drew steadily across her adversary's chest and stopped just as the wood touched her face.

"You told me never to release the dominant hand grip on your weapon," said Tsuruko's still smiling opponent, and she rolled out again and struck back.

"That's right," replied Tsuruko, as she deflected the strike and again stepped in close to her opponent. "And when you know how to use it ..." she trapped the smaller woman's bokken against a pillar and stepped inside her adversary's arms and turned around so that her back was facing her. Having complete control of her opponent, Tsuruko stripped the bokken out of her hand, and with a subtle motion of her hips, gave the smaller woman a shove that sent her stumbling backwards. "... you won't be taking my orders!"

Tsuruko chuckled to herself as she passed both bokkens into her right hand and leaned them up against another pillar. An assortment of genuine article weapons lay neatly displayed on a rack against one of the few walls in this particular structure, and Tsuruko was walking towards it. As the sound of the approaching horses reached a volume that suggested that their guests were only one twist away from the top, Tsuruko grabbed a large throwing spear off the rack. Turning purposefully in the direction of the sound, she wound back and threw the spear.

Tsuruko was tall for a Japanese woman, and no one would say that she in any way looked frail or weak, but nevertheless the speed at which she flung the spear seemed impossible. It whistled through the air as if it had been thrown by a god, flying low across the ground of the training area, nearly scraping the ground as it crossed the ridge of earth above the pathway to stick itself deeply in a tree just below the line of sight of the two duelists.

Haruka had seen the spear coming, but it had been immediately clear that it would not hit her, nor the members of her court who followed her ... though it came closer to them than to her. Bringing her own horse to a gentler stop as her comrades came to an abrupt halt, Haruka first smiled widely and then chuckled as she swung herself off her horse. As her stunned court watched, she casually walked over to the stricken tree and began to work the spear out of the wood. The blade and embedded itself deeply, but Haruka's unimposing frame also concealed a disproportionate strength, and she quickly freed the weapon.

Walking over to where her wide-eyed companions waited, Haruka said with another chuckle, "Why don't the rest of you wait for me here. This shouldn't take too long. Shinobu, may I have that pastry tray you made, please?"

The wide-eyed and slightly shaking young servant unsteadily dismounted and began to undo the bindings that held the gift down. Haruka saw that the young girl was having a bit of trouble and walked over to her. Reaching over her head, she helped Shinobu finish untying the rope. "Relax, Shinobu," Haruka said, giving her servant a reassuring pat on the head with one hand and picking up the pastry tray with the other. "Tsuruko was just messing around with that spear. If she'd have known you were with me, she probably wouldn't have done that."

Shinobu just nodded, but Haruka could sense the lessening of her tension. Carrying the spear in her right hand and the pastry tray in her left, Haruka bowed her head to her court and began walking up the short remaining distance up the path. By the time she got up there, Tsuruko and her incredibly persistent sparring partner were going at it again, but they stopped as Haruka came into view and started walking towards them.

"Your reputation for hospitality is fast becoming legend," Haruka said with a friendly smirk, as she tossed the spear back to Tsuruko. Tsuruko caught the spear, and quickly turned to her sparring partner and grabbed her by the wrist, pushing the blunt end of the spear to her back and forcing her to walk forward until she was only a pace's distance from Haruka.

"This is Motoko, my younger sister. Motoko, I present Haruka Urashima, Queen of Hinata," Tsuruko said, and then released her young charge. Motoko, who had never stopped smiling all the while, rubbed her wrist for a moment, and then bowed politely to Haruka.

"Greetings, Haruka. Long time no see," Motoko said, still obviously energized by her workout.

Haruka cracked another grin out of one side of her mouth as Tsuruko, who was also smiling, raised an eyebrow and cocked her head in question. She had never introduced these two before.

"Your sister seems to have missed out on the 'Stay at Home and Keep to Yourself' trait that has so defined your family, old friend," Haruka said, as if reading Tsuruko's mind. "Up until only a year or two ago, Motoko here used to sneak down to Hinata with returning supply convoys and messengers and join me at my court. I was beginning to wonder what you'd done with her, I hadn't seen her in so long."

Tsuruko turned her gaze to Motoko. "Is that a fact?"

Motoko lowered her head and shot her eyes into Tsuruko's, a challenging grin breaking on her face. "It is. What are you going to do about it?" With her words, Motoko drew her bokken from her sash and attempted to connect it with Tsuruko's neck, but the elder Aoyama again jumped inside Motoko's arc and stripped the bokken right out of her hand, allowing her momentum to carry her on past and giving Motoko a smart tap on the rear as she did so.

"Well, in any case, I'm sure both of you remember Shinobu Maehara, she's made you some fine pastries with her compliments," said Haruka with an amused chuckle, as she set the tray down on a convenient stone platform. "I wish I had the time to join the two of you in your workout, but unfortunately my visit today is business."

"Not Kentaro's business, I hope," said Tsuruko, her face losing some of the playfulness that had been there before, but still remaining friendly.

Haruka's expression also lost some of its good cheer. "We need to talk," she said simply.

Tsuruko nodded and turned to Motoko. "Please excuse us," she said, to which Motoko again bowed politely, and after grabbing her personal gear, she quietly made her way over to the path leading down from the training area and disappeared down it.

The two older women turned towards the other side of the training area and started slowly walking forward as they spoke.

"I will not fight for him," Tsuruko said flatly.

"I've never asked you to fight for him. I would never ask you or anyone else for that matter to do anything that I wouldn't do myself, and I wouldn't fight for the likes of him either."

Tsuruko huffed. "You might want to let him in on that. Kentaro seems to think you're the second largest piece of his own personal muscle."

"I'm a piece of Japan's muscle. Kentaro may be a royal jackass, but that doesn't make his underlying idea that the kingdoms of Japan should come together for the greater good any less valid. If the Japanese people benefit, then I don't really care if he likes to pretend that Japan's glory is his own. However, when he decides to use the Japanese people as tools for that which will benefit only him and not his people, that's when he'll find my support dropping off, and that's actually why I'm here."

Tsuruko's interest was piqued. "You want to declare war on Kentaro and place a more worthy ruler on the throne in Tokyo? Hell, why didn't you say so? _I'm_ in. I'll vote for you for the new Queen if we're taking votes for the matter."

Haruka smiled. "Thank you for the compliment, but that's not quite it either."

Tsuruko gave a disappointed shrug of the shoulders.

"How much do you know about what happened with the Nagoyan peace talks with Molmol?" Haruka asked.

"Let's see ... on the eve of peace, the Molmolians stole off with the Nagoyan King, the Nagoyans got all bent out of shape about it, Narusegawa went and 'convinced' Kentaro to declare war on Molmol, and now Kentaro wants me to fight for him so he can prove to Naru that he cares about her so much that he'd start a war for her because he's always wanted Naru for himself ... did I miss anything?"

Haruka raised her eyebrows and nodded the sort of 'kinda-sorta' confirmation nod. "I suppose that's the short and the sweet of it, yes. I wouldn't have guessed the word on the street would make it up here so thoroughly."

Tsuruko smiled weakly. "Sometimes I wish it didn't."

"Well, there are a few pieces of the story that didn't make it," said Haruka, he demeanor darkening a little as she spoke. "The Nagoyan King happens to be Keitaro Urashima, my nephew."

It was rare for surprise to show on Tsuruko's face, but it flashed across it for a moment at Haruka's words.

"Narusegawa has always treated my nephew like dirt. I'll never understand why he loved her so much. I don't know that I ever once saw him without bruises on his face or a limb in a splint after he moved to Nagoya to be with her. But I could not convince him to come home. Then he stopped visiting altogether, forbidden from leaving the Nagoyan palace without Naru's explicit consent I recently came to find out. And then the Molmolian princess Kaolla shows up. It seems that she quickly bonded with Keitaro. She showed him kindness and concern when he was used to indifference and abuse. The Molmolians did not 'kidnap' my nephew. He left with Kaolla of his own free will. He was just trying to escape the life Naru had inflicted upon him, and I for one don't blame him. I only wish he'd have come through me first, I could have prevented this ruckus and kept Narusegawa in check. But what's done is done."

Tsuruko began to nod slowly, as she saw where this was going.

"I'm now stuck in a difficult position. For such a high-profile event as this, some show of force has to be made or Japan will lose some serious face in the eyes of the rest of the world. There's nothing I can do about that. But Kentaro intends to fight until either Molmol or Japan no longer has anything left to fight with. Kentaro is riding so high on his successful domestic campaigns that he seems to think he's invincible now. But Japan and Molmol are too evenly matched for either side to truly win his war. It's a situation of mutually assured destruction. I've dealt with the Molmolians before, before Keitaro had even met Naru. I arbitrated another Molmol/Nagoya conflict. The Molmolians are an honorable people, and I intend to do anything and everything I can to prevent Kentaro from throwing so many lives away so needlessly and unjustly."

"So you want me to be a part of the 'show of force,' and then help keep Kentaro under control long enough for you to break out the negotiation table and stop the war from getting too costly?" Tsuruko ventured.

"Yes."

"Do you really think you can succeed?"

"With your help, yes. The Molmolians know me, and at least 3 or 4 of the other Japanese rulers will listen to me. If I can negotiate a peace treaty that will allow both sides to keep their pride, then we can force Kentaro to withdraw. Then, if the Nagoyans still want to fight, it's up to them to decide if they want to go against Kentaro's orders and take on Molmol by themselves. But I can't work on the treaty and keep Kentaro under wraps at the same time. You are very popular with the masses in Tokyo and most other places, you could keep Kentaro's hands full and out of my hair."

"And what of your nephew? What do you intend to do about him?"

Haruka sighed. "A mixed blessing. If only he'd have come to me first, I could have arranged for his return home. Because he left Naru in this way, they could officially label him a traitor. As you yourself said, Kentaro needs my support, and I can make it a condition of my participation in this campaign that I want Keitaro back alive and in my custody. At that time I would probably be forced to place him under arrest and strip him of his titles, but I could 'imprison' him in my palace and still let him live as good a life as possible."

"Forgive my asking, but does he really deserve such treatment? After all, however poor his life in Nagoya may have been, had he taken more appropriate means to get out of it, we would not find ourselves in this predicament to begin with."

Haruka took a deep breath, one that expressed a dozen different kinds of frustration. "Sooner or later, we would have. You know Kentaro. His ambition has grown insatiable with the unification of Japan. It was only a matter of time before Kentaro found an excuse to try and remove his only true rival. My nephew didn't make anything happen that wasn't going to happen anyway, he only made it happen a little sooner than it otherwise might have."

Tsuruko thought for a moment, and then nodded in understanding. "You're right," she said. "Forgive me for the implication." Tsuruko gave Haruka an apologetic bow with her last words.

Haruka bowed back. "It's alright. I appreciate your willingness to speak your mind. I've found that people become a lot less inclined to do so in your presence when you become Queen."

A moment of silence passed between them, and they stopped walking.

"The fleet sails for Molmol in four weeks, so you've got some time to decide," Haruka said, and her body language told Tsuruko that she was about to leave. Tsuruko nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Anyway, my kingdom is mobilizing, and I have to get back to the dirty work. You know where to find me," Haruka said as started to walk away back towards the path. Tsuruko didn't respond then either. Haruka walked a few more steps before stopping and turning her head to leave Tsuruko with a parting thought.

"I know how you feel about leaving Japanese soil. But if we don't put the brakes on Kentaro while we have the chance, tens of thousands of people will die and Japan's strength and honor will be irreparably damaged," she said. Again there was no response from Tsuruko, and after a moment Haruka turned around again and marched down the path to where her anxious court awaited her.


	5. All's Fair in Love and War

_**Four Weeks Later**_

The past four weeks passed by very quickly for all involved. As the civil war of sorts had only just ended recently, all the kingdoms of Japan were by this time well-practiced in the matter of preparing for war and the Hinatans in particular were renowned for their efficiency. Haruka had thus been able to spend much of the time figuring out exactly how she was going to pull off the grandiose scenario that she had explained to Tsuruko. She had little doubt that once the casualties began to mount after the Japanese and Molmolian armies had bounced off one another a few times that enough of the other Japanese rulers would grow weary of pointless battle and take interest in her ideas, but Haruka was keen to keep the body count on both sides to a minimum. However, Haruka did have grave doubts that Naru and Kentaro were going to be satisfied with a single, face-saving battle, and that was her biggest problem. During the civil war her allegiance to Kentaro had been critical for him, but now that he ostensibly commanded the whole of Japan Haruka wasn't expecting him to be as receptive as he had once been to her influence, particularly as Naru would be there goading him on. Ultimately, what Haruka feared she may have to do would come dangerously close to an outright challenge of Kentaro's authority. This raised the possibility of renewed infighting between the various Japanese kingdoms, which could certainly cause every bit as much damage as war with Molmol, and the unification of said kingdoms had been the reason she had supported Kentaro in the first place.

Haruka was snapped out of her thought trance when one of her generals knocked softly on the wall beside the open door to her private chambers.

"Come in, general."

The officer deftly stepped inside and bowed. "My Lady, we have just received word from Kentaro that we are to set sail tomorrow morning," he said.

Haruka nodded and cracked a thin smile. "I hope the army hasn't been too bored sitting around the harbor waiting for the other kingdoms to catch up."

The general smiled back. "Not at all. The troops have been either resting or training to occupy their time. Of course, your generous gift of five dozen crates of sake has helped too."

"It was the least I could do. You and the troopers have given exemplary service throughout these trying times. Consider it a small token of my appreciation."

The general bowed again. "To serve you is our privilege, My Lady. No extra reward is needed, but we appreciate it nonetheless."

Haruka stood up. "Kindly make sure that any final details are taken care of. I have one last item to attend to myself," she said as she began walking towards the general and the door.

"Yes, My Lady," the general replied, and the two of them walked out of the palace together, parting ways as the general went in the direction of the harbor, and Haruka took her horse towards the mountains. Haruka had not heard from Tsuruko since she had visited the sword master four weeks ago, and it was very unusual for her old friend to be out of touch for so long when there was pending business.

* * *

It wasn't a terribly long ride to the Aoyama clan mountaintop fortress, so Haruka didn't have too much time to ponder to herself the consequences either of Tsuruko's agreement or decline of her proposal. Either way though, she had expected to find her there, and Haruka was quickly hit with a sense of confused surrealism as she rode through the small hamlet just beneath the mountaintop dojo and found it to be completely deserted. Tsuruko did not rule over a large community, but for every last person to be absent was something that Haruka had never seen before. She rode around for the better part of an hour, looking for anyone who might tell her where they had all gone, but found no one. Puzzled, and rather disappointed, she turned around and headed back.

* * *

"Haruka Urashima! Even in times like these you still insist on riding alone? What a waste of good company!"

Hardly had both of Haruka's feet hit the ground after dismounting from her horse, before any of her court could utter so much as a "Welcome back, my Lady," these words rang out from behind her. Immediately a small patch of blush appeared on her face, and a moment later a look of embarrassed annoyance was directed at her security officer.

"I'm sorry my Lady," the officer in question squeaked meekly. "But he is a king."

Haruka took a deep breath, and trying not to let her blush get any more noticeable, she addressed the man behind her without turning to face him.

"And what can the Kingdom of Hinata do for the Kingdom of Matsuyama? Send one of our officers to lead your army while their king is away trying to get laid perhaps? Did you forget that we're about to go to war?"

Another among Haruka's court dared to almost snicker out loud, until a death glare from his queen shut him up good.

The undeterred voice from behind was drawing closer. "That doesn't sound like high morale to me," he said as he came to a stop a half step behind her and a half step to one side. "Your own soldiers are down their having a good time even as we speak _on your orders_, and their Highness doesn't even want to spend her last day at home with an old friend before she sails off to the battlefield? Where is it written that rulers aren't allowed to have any fun themselves?"

Against her best efforts, Haruka's blush was getting brighter. Any Hinatan whom she had ever worked directly with during the civil war had seen her go through a range of emotions and she was not shy about being open among her countrymen. The one exception to that rule, however, had been discovered by all about 4 months after Haruka was crowned queen when Seta Noriyasu, who had by then been king of Matsuyama for 2 years, came to visit. Though after the first day no one in her court thought it wise to ask about it, it became clear that Seta and Haruka must have been romantically involved at some point in the past, and that the two of them must not have gone their separate ways on the best of terms – at least from Haruka's point of view. Anytime Seta was around her – or pretty much any time at all for that matter – his unshakable cheerfulness and casual demeanor would for the most part have suggested that he and Haruka must be married. Part of Haruka had clearly enjoyed seeing him again, but for the most part her frontal demeanor had been indifferent, if not irritated. By the time Seta had been 'excused' from Haruka's palace, her court had seen her blush for the first time, and it was quickly realized that this was one situation that she wanted to keep private.

"Fine," Haruka grumbled. "Go and wait for me on my ship. I'll be boarding sometime this evening. I guess we'd better take you with us anyway, less you get the idea that you're getting out of expeditionary duty just by running away to my kingdom."

Seta let out a hearty laugh. "Works for me. I'll wait in your cabin. Say, you don't still have that big silk blanket of mine that I left here last time, do you? It's so perfectly sized for two people to share, and I know you remember how nice it feels on bare ski ..."

Haruka, her face now a humiliating shade of red, turned to face him for the first time, and even through her rather comical _(comical to everyone but Haruka herself of course)_ blush her eyes spoke threats of indescribable horror and death to Seta should he finish his sentence, and the Matsuyaman king finally decided that he had push his luck far enough for now.

"Alright then, I'll see you tonight," he said, and made a beeline for his horse, which a member of his own court was holding for him.

Haruka stood motionless for a few seconds, taking several deep breaths. Going by the heat she felt coming off her face she guessed that her blush wasn't doing her any favors, and so standing as tall as she could, she purposefully marched towards her palace, taking care not to make eye contact with anyone as she did so._ "That jerk really has no shame, has he?" _Haruka thought to herself. _"Hope the bilge rats don't mind some company ..."_

_

* * *

_

Haruka did, despite her protests, make good on her word to arrive at her ship that same evening. She finished some last minute changes and add-ons to the instructions she was leaving for her officer that was to be acting king in her absence, as well as a final list of successors in the event that she and any number of the officers going with her to Molmol failed to return, and then, with Shinobu in tow, rode down to the harbor and boarded her flagship. Also as promised, Seta was waiting patiently in her cabin, although he still did not think that provoking Haruka any further was a good idea on this day, and so he had prepared himself a makeshift bedroll on the floor across from her bed. He was sitting on the crate he had brought with him when Haruka and Shinobu came into the room. Even before he could say anything, Haruka's eyes confirmed his caution.

"Good evening ladies," Seta said simply.

"And to you," Haruka replied carefully. Looking down at Shinobu, Haruka said, "this is my chief domestic aid, Shinobu Maehara. Shinobu, this is the King of Matsuyama, Seta Noriyasu."

Shinobu bowed politely. "Nice to meet you, your Highness," she said.

Haruka patted her on the back. "You may take leave now, Shinobu. Your cabin should be ready. And thank you as always."

"Yes my Lady," Shinobu said, and with another bow, she backed out of the room. Her cabin was right next to Haruka's though, so a moment later both she and Seta could hear the faint sounds through the wall of Shinobu putting the last touches on her cabin. A few minutes of awkward silence passed.

"You've always had a terrible sense of timing Seta," Haruka said with a sigh, and she fully entered her cabin and closed the door. "There are much more pressing matters at hand than you and I. We should not be distracting ourselves."

"Since when are close relations between rulers of allied nations derogatory to a war effort?" Seta replied frankly. "You know, when ..."

"Stop right there," Haruka threw in, cutting him off. "I cannot believe you're going to just waltz into my court like this after all this time and pretend like nothing ever happened. And on the eve of a major campaign at that. You've always been an audacious prick since the first day I met you, but once again you've managed to top yourself. I ought to whip that shit-eating grin of yours right off your face and banish you from my kingdom forever."

Seta's expression lost a lot of its good cheer and took on a more remorseful tone. "Well you weren't terribly receptive to my previous attempts to reestablish contact, now were you?" Seta sat up straight in his chair from the casual slouch he'd been in before. "We weren't working together during the civil war because Kentaro wanted your people to fight with him and for mine to oversee the integration of the newly 'unified' kingdoms. But it looks like we're in this one together, and don't you think it would be nice to make some sort of resolution between us before we are to be covering one another's backs in battle?"

Haruka's face contorted with anger. "Is that really what's motivating you, Seta? Because you know what it looks like to me? You trying to pick your second choice out of the trash when your first choice up and died on you."

Seta cringed at her words, and for once was left without a response. But he did look away from Haruka.

Because of the obvious effect that what she had said had on Seta, a small voice of mercy spoke up in the back of Haruka's mind and urged her to stop. But her anger had not yet been expended, and she pressed on.

"Did you really think that I am so desperate and helpless that I was content just to sit back and wait for my turn? That I would get in line or something? _Damn _you and your arrogance! I am NOT your backup plan. I am not ANYONE'S backup plan. You don't love me, Seta. You never did. All I ever was to you was a spare sail to be tucked away until your main sail was ripped away. Now grab your gear and get out of my cabin!"

She forcefully flung her door open behind her and stuck her foot out to hold it open, looking down and out the door as she did so.

Seta closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, standing up slowly and humbly, he stepped over to where he had laid out his bedroll. Quickly gathering it up, he opened his crate and crammed his bedding into it. He then picked up the crate, and without a sound and without looking anyway but forward, he walked out of the room.

Haruka waited a few moments before closing the door behind him. Glad that she had been able to hold them in until Seta was gone, she let a pair of tears hit the ground now.

"_Dammit Seta, I don't need this right now! I've got enough weight on my shoulders trying to prevent a war! What the hell is wrong with you!" _Haruka thought to herself as she tried to rub her eyes dry. _"I'm gonna dump your ass on the first Matsuyaman ship I see tomorrow!"_

_

* * *

_

The morning came not a moment too soon for many among the Hinatan force. At daybreak the captain of the flagship duly woke Haruka and brought her to the main deck for the final orders to set sail. After conducting a brief inspection of her top officers, she gave said order. In the space of 5 minutes, hatches had sprung open and massive oars lanced out from the sides of the dozens and dozens of large ships that filled Hinata Harbor, and slowly but steadily propelled the vessels out of the sheltered cove to where huge sails sprang up and spread themselves in front of the wind. Filling the horizon in from of the Hinatan ships was the massed fleet of the other Japanese kingdoms, moving south as they collected forces from all over Japan on their greater trip south to Molmol. Unbeknown to Kentaro or any of the other kingdoms, Haruka was barely taking half her army to Molmol, against the 75 demanded by Kentaro, but was still taking her entire fleet so as not to make this fact apparent. If things went down the way she feared they might, she wanted the piece of mind that her kingdom would have sufficient military strength left in-country to defend against what remained of Kentaro's army and those of his closest allies. The shortfall in bodies among her forces was partially compensated for by civilian volunteers, merchants, trade smiths, and anyone else who either saw profit to be had in peddling to the combined and far-from-home Japanese army or was simply willing to come along for the ride and help Haruka maintain the illusion that she had indeed embarked the bulk of her military. The Hinatan ships maintained perfect flotilla cohesion as they formed a cruising block of four parallel lines at the starboard-aft position of the main fleet, with Haruka's flagship as the center vessel of the lead trio.

* * *

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Molmol was much more festive. As Amara and the other Molmolian dignitaries had only returned to Nagoya for the formal signing of the treaty, it was already known throughout Molmol that the negotiations had been successful, and their princesses returned with the official news of peace, the celebrations in the streets began to run wild just as soon as the returning ships had been sighted. As they docked, jubilant throngs ran out to meet them.

Keitaro had by then been dressed in Molmolian attire, but his light complexion meant that no one would think for a minute that he was Molmolian. Quietly he stood at the door leading outside from the below decks, Kaolla at his side, while Amara addressed them both.

"Now remember what I told you. This is supposed to be a happy occasion. I don't care how hard you have to fake it, I want to see all smiles when we get out there. Keitaro, for all anyone here knows, you are just a lucky Japanese court servant who stole my sister's heart during her prolonged stay, and that's just what I'd like them to believe for now. So don't either of you do anything to change that perception. Got it?"

"No problem. That's pretty much the truth anyway," Keitaro replied softly.

Amara nodded. "Alright. Now we're going straight to the royal palace. We need to figure out how we're going to handle this situation. Be happy and be friendly, but do not let yourself get sidetracked. Right?"

Keitaro and Kaolla both nodded.

"Good. Then let's go."

Amara popped open the door, and all their ears were instantly greeted with thunderous cheer and applause. Just as quickly, Amara put on her best cheerful face, and Kaolla and Keitaro followed suit. Although she was less than optimistic about how this affair would end, being among her ecstatic countrymen was fast turning her happy demeanor into something more genuine. Even Kaolla's and Keitaro's spirits were lifted. It wasn't a short walk to the royal palace from the docks under normal conditions, but with a street festival occupying the entire route, it took them into the late afternoon.

* * *

King Marakesh had, of course, been informed the moment his returning sisters had been sighted, and so was waiting for them in the banquet hall when they arrived, much of the nobility of Molmol being present as well. A feast had been prepared, but no one was seated as the returning delegation approached the king, Amara in the lead. She stopped one pace in front of him, crossed her right arm over her chest and bowed.

Marakesh just smiled. "Well done, sisters. Well done," he said simply but with much feeling. Then he and Amara hugged each other. When they parted, Kaolla stepped forward, Keitaro following a step behind her. Kaolla hugged her brother too, and then stepped back and extended her had for Keitaro to come forward.

"Brother, this is Keitaro Urashima," Kaolla said, and Keitaro copied Amara's gesture of respect.

Marakesh raised an eyebrow. "Keitaro ... Keitaro of Nagoya?"

Kaolla smiled and shook her head. "Keitaro of _Molmol_," she replied firmly.

Marakesh took her response in for a minute, and then turned his smile to Keitaro and extended his hand. "Welcome, Keitaro of Molmol, to our kingdom," he said. Keitaro accepted the handshake and bowed again.

"Thank you, your Highness," he said politely.

Returning his smile to the direction of the princesses, Marakesh spoke again. "By happy coincidence, you are not the only home-comers on this day. Look who else is back from her exciting travel adventures ..."

He turned his arm in the direction of a curtained-off doorway and motioned at someone behind them to step forward. Upon his gesture, a small, delicate and stunningly beautiful young woman stepped out from behind the curtain, lightly scooted out to them and performed the Molmolian salute. Raising her head again, she smiled shyly and blushed slightly.

Kaolla's eyes lit up and she skipped forward towards the young woman. "Nyamo! Dearest cousin, it's great to see you again!" Kaolla wailed eagerly, and gave the slightly shorter girl an energetic hug. Nyamo returned the gesture, but much more delicately.

"Welcome home, cousin," Amara said, as she too came forward and exchanged hugs with Nyamo.

"And high congratulations to the two of you as well, for your monumental accomplishments," Nyamo said, her soft voice matching the apparent delicacy if the rest of her.

At this point, Marakesh stepped in. "Yes indeed. And the celebration feast is getting cold. Let us sit and eat for now."

Amara nodded in agreement.


	6. Invasion

The sheer size of the fleet he led meant Kentaro had not expected to achieve a surprise attack, so the failure to stop a Molmolian picket ship before it disappeared against the faint backdrop of Molmol caused him no great concern. Naru was positively pleased that the game had been given away. Neither she nor Kentaro were known for preferring anything other than the direct approach and the thought of meeting the Molmolians in a stand-up fight on the beaches suited her just fine.

"You should save some of your energy for the fight ahead, my dear Queen. Much as I enjoy your company, you really should spend at least the last leg of this journey on your own ship."

Kentaro was already realizing that he had underestimated what it meant to take Naru as a consort. He enjoyed her passion, even if that passion had been nothing more than than her means to an end, but over the days of this sea voyage he was starting to understand a bit of why Keitaro had fled from her. She had hardly set foot on her own flagship since her fleet had joined with his, and even then only when Kentaro had accompanied her there. Had he not been her king he doubted that he could have ever taken a moment's leave from her, and even then it had never been easy. All the while she lavished the comforts of her body upon him, making it ever more difficult for him to refuse her, and much as he had longed for this, she did not seem to pay much heed to the fact that they had a campaign to plan. Despite her strong role in initiating this war, during the en route meetings with the other rulers of Japan, she primarily used her voice to shout down any measure of dissent and pile excessive praise onto Kentaro's leadership, rather than offering any useful input towards the mechanics of this great victory she kept speaking of. The other rulers watched Naru's clinging to Kentaro, which at times bordered on the obscene, with raised eyebrows, and Kentaro himself was beginning to worry that Naru's minimal public inhibitions was costing him credibility in the eyes of his junior kings and queens.

Naru didn't slow her pace at the prow of Kentaro's ship at his words. Ever since Molmol had become visible on the horizon, she had been pacing like a caged lion that was being taunted with fresh meat. For the first time since they had left Japan, her attention was affixed to something other than him.

"As your partner in this war, should I not lead it at your side?" She answered plainly and without looking at him.

"Of course you should. But likewise you should lead from the front of your own army. Your generals are doubtlessly wondering why they have seen less of their queen than mine have."

The sight of their destination seemed to have brought a little focus back to Naru, and she was a little more receptive to reason now than she had been in days past.

"I'll have my boat take you to your flagship, and then why don't you move your fleet up alongside mine. We will hit the beaches together and march over it side by side."

Nevertheless Naru did show visible hesitation, but in the end her small but occasionally redeeming rational side won out.

"Very well," she said, quietly but deliberately. "Do me a favor and have those other ships to your starboard out of my way by the time I get my fleet up here."

Kentaro smirked slightly but withheld a snicker. "As you wish, my dear Queen."

With that, Kentaro made a motion to one of his orderlies, who promptly departed. He returned a short time later with Naru's entourage, and led them all to the stern where Kentaro's personal boat awaited them.

* * *

The picket ship had made port early that evening with word of the approaching invasion, so when the fleet became visible to Molmol's mountain top lookouts at first light the next morning, final defensive preparations were already well underway. Amara had decided not to meet the Japanese fleet in a battle on the open sea, as regardless of whether they were successful in driving the Japanese off, such a battle would have been very costly in Molmolian lives, as they held no advantage on the water. Thus Amara had successfully persuaded Marakesh to allow her to hold the fleet back and allow the Japanese to reach the shores. There she held the advantages of terrain and prepared defenses, and once the Japanese were tied up securing their beachhead, the fleet would move around the island and attack the Japanese from their rear while the army on land would launch a renewed assault. Trapped between these two forces, the Japanese would be left in a very poor tactical situation indeed.

* * *

Amara was standing over a large table with several of her generals when Kaolla entered the room. The table held a large sculpted likeness of the entire main island of Molmol and the group was finalizing strategies and contingencies, but one of the generals noticed the younger Suu as she slowly moved closer and brought it to Amara's attention. The discussion quickly came to a halt as the two sisters locked eyes.

"Generals, please excuse us for a moment," Amara said after a moment's silence.

The generals nodded and took their leave.

Amara and Kaolla continued to stare at one another in silence for a good 5 minutes before Amara broke the ice ... or perhaps refroze it, depending on how one took it.

"If you have something to say, sister, then say it. I have a lot of work to do and I don't have time for games of silence."

"Please forgive me, Amara," Kaolla said purposefully.

"Forgive you for what?"

"Now who's playing games?"

Amara sighed in annoyance and turned away, making for the doorway through which her generals had just passed. She was about to pass through it herself when Kaolla's unusually forceful hand latched onto her shoulder to stop her.

Barely suppressing the urge to swat her hand away and keep moving, Amara allowed herself to be stopped.

"I really mean it, Kaolla. If you have something worthwhile to say, spit it out or leave me to my business," Amara said, tension thick in her voice.

"I have already said what I had to say, and whether it is worthwhile or not is up to you."

Amara's nerves cooled slightly as she pondered her response, though only slightly. After a moment she spun on her heels to face Kaolla again. The younger woman released her grip on Amara's shoulder and began backing up as Amara advanced on her. After driving Kaolla back against the wall, Amara stopped and spoke.

"It was only a matter of time before King Kentaro's ambition grew too large for his own lands, Kaolla," Amara began softly. "This day was inevitable. Everyone who will die in the days to come, was destined to die by Japanese blade. For this, you are not responsible. However, your actions have brought this upon us before its due time. The fact that I allowed you to bring him here means that I share some of the blame as well. But I reserve the right to resent you for forcing me to choose between your life and the early deaths of our countrymen."

Kaolla listened to Amara's words without reply, and after another moment of silence between them, Amara turned and began walking away.

"Besides," Amara added as she left, "Our brother is the one you should be apologizing to, not me."

* * *

"I was expecting you right around this time," came Marakesh's voice from around the corner, even before Kaolla had rounded it into his throne room. Kaolla slowed her pace but did not answer, sighing heavily and then making herself visible.

Marakesh was not sitting on his throne. He had a large statue of the Turtle God that was Molmol's primary deity in the room, and he was knelt down before it in prayer. He said nothing else, and Kaolla slowly walked up beside him. Still without saying another word, she too knelt down before the statue and bowed her head.

"I pray that my country can forgive me for the coming tragedy that I have brought upon it," Kaolla said to the statue after a couple of minutes of silence.

Marakesh didn't break his prayer position, but nevertheless replied immediately.

"Your country loves you, Kaolla. Even if this war really was your fault, they would still be honored to fight for you."

Kaolla suppressed a tear.

"It _is_ my fault, brother. It is. You know it as well as I do. Our countrymen are about to reap the consequences of my selfishness while I sleep in a soft bed with my prize."

Marakesh did break his position at that point. He slowly stood up, then reached down and hooked his hand under Kaolla's arm, pulling her slowly to her feet as well. When their eyes met, he spoke again.

"Do you love him?" He asked simply.

Kaolla was unsuccessful in suppressing her tears this time, and a pair of them ran down her cheeks.

"Yes, brother. I have loved many things and many people in my life, but never the way I love Keitaro. The thought of us being apart was hard enough to comprehend, but the Nagoyan queen is a vicious, horrible person who treated him like the lowliest of slaves. I could not leave him to that kind of life. I could not have lived with that."

To Kaolla's astonishment, Marakesh broke into a smile and continued to stare into her eyes for a few moments before breaking off to begin slowly walking around the side of the statue.

"The nations of men fight one another for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's for land, sometimes for power, sometimes for wealth, sometimes for glory or spite. In your lifetime alone, Molmolians have fought, killed and died for all of these reasons. Never in my life, nor those of our parents, did I ever hear of a war being triggered by love. But if there has to be a war, I can think of no better rallying cry than that."

"But there _didn't_ have to be a war, brother! Had we not just concluded peace with Nagoya? Why does everyone keep ..."

Marakesh cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Does that look like the fleet of a single kingdom of Japan out there?" He asked, motioning in the direction of the ocean with his head. "All the ships and soldiers of all Japan are not here for the wounded pride of one queen. For all your experience in matters of state, it surprises me if you truly believe that your actions are the real cause of this. All you've done is made something that was going to happen anyway happen a little sooner. And if your love for Keitaro Urashima happens to be what brings this conflict to a head, let the Japanese say they fight for land, for power, for wealth, and for spite. Let Molmol say we fight for love."

Kaolla was too surprised at her brother's reaction to have a ready response to what he had just said. He quickly continued, not leaving her hanging for long.

"By choosing the time for an inevitable conflict, we put ourselves at an advantage. We could never have afforded to keep our military on full alert indefinitely while we waited for King Kentaro's ambition to catch us unprepared. Knowing full well that Kentaro would seize this excuse to attack us, we have been able to prepare our defenses to the fullest extent. You weep because you fear you have brought needless death and destruction to our homeland, when in fact you have granted your sister the opportunity eliminate the greatest threat to Molmol on the most advantageous terms possible."

"Brother ... you make it sound as though the thought of what is to come pleases you. Like you wanted this to happen ..."

Marakesh's face took on a much more serious, though understanding, expression as he made his reply.

"If you are determined to see blood on your hands, there is nothing I can do to stop you," he began solemnly. "I doubt there is anything more I can say to you that Amara has not already said, though I suspect her thoughts are rather more harsh than mine. This affair is unpleasant business, but an unavoidable evil. No Kaolla, the thought of what is to come does not please me in the least. It was my sincerest hope that we might enjoy a decade of peace before this day arrived. But the Turtle God tests his people when and however he chooses. You should be grateful that he saw fit to allow you the love that was to begin his test."

Kaolla found herself without any arguments to offer up. Despite the total lack of hostile energy from her brother, she still felt very uncomfortable. Marakesh was well aware of this, and decided that her apology effort was over.

"You should go now, Kaolla. Your place right now is at Keitaro Urashima's side. Your role in this affair is to love. The things you fear, your sister will attend to. That is _her_ role."

Regarding her brother with an uneasy puzzlement, Kaolla could still offer no dispute to him, and after a few moments, she silently stood up and walked back out of the throne room.

* * *

"I give it another 4 hours at most, my Lady," commented Admiral Androshyn, Commander of the Molmolian navy, as he, Amara, and several other officers watched the approaching Japanese fleet from a hilltop watchtower not far from the beach.

"I agree. I trust our fleet is ready to round the island at our signal?"

"It is, my Lady. And our land forces are ready and waiting as well."

Amara nodded and turned to her collection of officers.

"Well done, my friends. Let us all take our positions and await the enemy. Dismissed," she said, to which her officers saluted and then left for their stations.

* * *

The hours ticked by slowly as the approaching Japanese fleet grew larger and larger in the eyes of the defenders until the familiar sea horizon was all but blocked out by it. The defensive preparations had been completed well in advance, so there was little for the defenders to do but sit and watch ... and wait.

* * *

Haruka had worked her fleet to the rear of the formation, a process made easier by the disruptions caused by the Nagoyan fleet muscling its way to the front. The Hinatan forces had always featured prominently in Kentaro's actions since the first battle that they participated in, but if their absence from the front had been noticed at all, it had drawn no protest from Kentaro. The Tokyo leader was in no position to pick a fight with one of his key allies over something like the order of battle. Still, Haruka's stress factor was going up. She had a pretty good idea of what she was going to do, but there is always a difference between planning something in one's head, and the moment when one must put those plans into action. The attack would begin in well under an hour now, and there was no more time for speculation.

"My Queen! The van has been hit!"

A frantic cry from her lookouts snapped Haruka out of her trance and sent her hurrying up the gangway from her cabin to the main deck.

"What's going on up there, Lieutenant?" Haruka called to the head lookout at the top of the mainmast.

"I'm not sure, my Queen, but several lead ships are burning and sinking! I didn't see it, but it must have been something from Molmol!"

Haruka exchanged a few quick glances with a few of her other officers who had responded to the alarm call, then quickly tied up her hakama bottoms and kimono sleeves and climbed up the mast herself to the lookout platform. She arrived just in time to see half a dozen large, flaming archs lance out from a fortification on the Molmolian beach. Two of the fiery streaks missed and splashed into the ocean, but the other four appeared to pierce right through the ships that the struck, the only immediately obvious sign that they ships had been hit was the immediate spread of flame that radiated out from the impact points. Very quickly though, chunks of the vessels began to break off and rigging began to catch fire, and in less than a minute, crewers and soldiers spilled over the sides from two of the stricken ships as they began to sink.

"Great Kami in heaven ..." Haruka muttered to herself as she watched the spectacle. The lookouts sharing the platform with her turned in her direction at her words, and when she noticed their attentions, she smiled humorlessly at them.

"Signal the fleet to spread out. I want every one of my ships with at least 4 ship lengths between itself and its neighbor on either side, we're going to need the room to maneuver," she shouted down to her deck officers, and then swung herself back around the mast to begin climbing back down. Catching the eyes of her lookouts again, she then spoke to them.

"Good eyes, gentlemen. Keep me posted on whatever other warm welcomes await us," she said, and then quickly slid back down to the deck.

* * *

Kentaro had had his first moment of anxiety when he watched the first two ships sink, but a number of minutes later as a second volley of fire launched out from the beach and one of the fireballs was making a beeline for his own ship, he experienced a moment of genuine fear.

"HARD TO PORT! HARD TO PORT!" Kentaro bellowed at his helmsman, though the skilled seaman had already altered course at the first moment enemy fire had traced a path to his vessel. However, the ship immediately behind Kentaro's flagship less than a ship's length to the rear now, which saw itself in the path of the oncoming fire as well, also swung to port at almost the same time. A larger and less maneuverable ship than the flagship, it was unable to turn inside of Kentaro's circle. With all eyes on the incoming fire, no one on the flagship noticed the situation until they were knocked off their feet as the second ship crashed into them.

* * *

Amara watched from inside the bunker where the tar-soaked, iron-tipped logs were being launched from as her defenses drew first blood of the war.

"They've got less than 100 meters to go," she commented to an officer. "Signal the archers to prepare to fire."

The officer motioned to a signalman who immediately let fly with a signal arrow.

* * *

"It's no good sir. There's no way we're going to get the ships apart. We're sitting ducks like this, we must transfer your flag and abandon ship!" A frantic officer said to Kentaro as he returned from inspecting the damage.

Kentaro knew that the officer was correct, but still hesitated – it would be embarrassing, after all, to lose his flagship before the first Japanese troops set foot on Molmolian soil.

"Sir! The next enemy volley will fire any minute! We must clear the ship _now_!" The officer repeated.

"All hands, abandon ship!" Kentaro said, heeding his officer's advice without further delay. Indeed, the other ship was already disgorging its human and material cargo at breakneck speed, and the crew of the flagship had already taken it upon themselves to begin rounding up the most important gear.

The haste proved well founded, as less than 2 minutes later, another volley of the fire logs launched out from the beach, 3 of them targeting the immobile and helpless flagship and its unfortunate companion. In the 9 or 10 seconds of flight the remaining soldiers on deck abandoned their equipment and jumped overboard, but the small number still below were in more dire straights. The first projectile flew long and smashed through the stern of the second ship, flame spreading quickly through the vessel. The second shot hit the flagship amidships, only about 4 meters forward from the point where she had been rammed by her comrade. Fire spread there too, but the stress of the impact added to that which had been inflicted by the collision and proved too much for the hull. With the loud snapping of wood and the thump of water rushing into the empty space, the flagship split in half, the stern section being pulled backwards and away by the sinking companion vessel still embedded in that half of the ship while the bow section spun around in the water and remained floated for a few minutes before beginning to fill with water and sink.

Kentaro had of course made off in his personal boat beforehand, and had quickly received an invitation to board Naru's flagship even before the final demise of his own. The bombardment from Molmol's shore batteries continued, joined shortly by archers firing fire arrows. Not inconsiderable damage had been wrought on the Japanese fleet by the time they hit the beach, but in the end, the attackers sailed over the wrecked hulks of their comrades to ground themselves and bring the fight onto dry land.


End file.
